Timeline of the Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand lewd phone call saga

Here is a timeline of how events unfolded since the lewd calls were broadcast.

1:34AM GMT 31 Oct 2008

Saturday October 18

:: Calls made by Brand and Ross to Andrew Sachs and messages left on his answerphone are aired in pre-recorded sections on Brand's BBC Radio 2 evening show between 9pm and 11pm. It includes Ross telling the Fawlty Towers star Brand had slept with the actor's granddaughter Georgina Baillie and Brand joking Sachs might kill himself.

Saturday October 25

:: As reporters prepare a story for the Mail on Sunday, Brand sings a light-hearted apology to Sachs on his radio show but says "it was quite funny" and replays some of the calls.

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:: Sachs's agent Meg Poole says the actor is "upset" by the incident. She says she has emailed and written to the BBC to formally complain about the calls.

Monday October 27

:: The BBC apologises to Sachs for the "unacceptable and offensive" content of the calls. The corporation says it has launched a review.

:: Pressure group Mediawatch-UK calls for Brand and Ross to be taken off air while the BBC investigates.

:: The BBC reveals it has received more than 1,500 complaints. Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has also received complaints.

:: Sachs tells reporters he is angry but that the apology should be directed at his granddaughter.

Tuesday October 28

:: Conservative MP for Monmouth David Davies calls for the pair to be sacked.

:: Former BBC deputy director-general Will Wyatt says "someone should take some pain" for what happened.

:: John Whittingdale, chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee, stops short of calling for the DJs to be sacked but says an investigation should be carried out into editorial "failures".

:: Ofcom announces an investigation into the phone calls.

:: The BBC Trust asks for a report from BBC management on its investigations.

:: The BBC reveals complaints about Brand's show stands at 4,700.

:: A spokeswoman for Sachs says Ross sent flowers and a letter of apology to the actor.

:: Tory leader David Cameron adds his voice, calling for the BBC to be "transparent" about how the programme came to be broadcast.

:: Sachs tells the BBC his granddaughter "feels very guilty" and that Ross personally delivered the letter and flowers to him.

:: At 10pm the Metropolitan Police confirms it has received complaints about the comments.

Wednesday October 29

:: Ms Baillie, 23, calls for Ross and Brand to be sacked. In an interview with The Sun, the aspiring model admits she has slept with Brand but labels the presenters "cruel sickos" for the messages.

:: The parliamentary motion criticising the calls is signed by 13 MPs, with others indicating they will back it.

:: Ross was understood to be filming his weekly BBC TV show Friday Night With Jonathan Ross. Guests Sir David Attenborough, Disney star Miley Cyrus and comedian Frank Skinner were expected to attend.

:: At 11.30am the BBC announces it has suspended Ross and Brand. It also reveals the number of complaints has risen to 18,000. Describing the incident as a "gross lapse of taste", BBC director-general Mark Thompson says: "I have decided that it is not appropriate for either Russell Brand or Jonathan Ross to continue broadcasting on the BBC until I have seen the full report of the actions of all concerned."

:: The recording of Friday Night With Jonathan Ross is cancelled, as well as his radio shows this weekend.

:: Ross issues a statement with an apology to Andrew Sachs. He said the prank calls represented a "stupid error of judgment on my part".

:: Brand announces he is resigning from his Radio 2 show as he issues a statement and apology to Andrew Sachs and Miss Baillie.

:: Andrew Sachs says of Brand's decision to quit "I respect his decision. I hope he moves forward, I really hope he does." Miss Baillie says "justice has been done".

:: Complaints to BBC top 25,000.

Thursday October 30

:: Fellow comic Victoria Wood jumps to the defence of Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, insisting they are not to blame. However, comedian Steve Coogan brands the stunt "not particularly funny" and "mean-spirited".

:: DVD rental website LoveFilm.com reports a 133 per cent rise in the number of rentals for Russell Brand's stand-up comedy DVDs.

:: London Mayor Boris Johnson joins the political debate and says the pair should "atone" by buying "Christmas presents for the poor and needy children of London".

:: Jonathan Ross is suspended without pay for 12 weeks and told he would not be able to bring the BBC into disrepute again but his £6 million-a-year job is saved.

:: At 6pm Radio 2 Controller Lesley Douglas resigns from the BBC.

:: The BBC Trust orders an on-air apology to licence fee payers for "serious and deliberate breaches" of the BBC editorial guidelines.